BENGALURU: Though a majority of Indians prefer watching ‘live TV’, other forms of content viewing such as streaming or downloading from a computer, internet TV, etc., are catching up reflect a new online poll of 15,551 adults in 20 countries conducted by Ipsos OTX – the global innovation centre for Ipsos, a global market and opinion research firm.

“With so many new ways to view television programming, it might come as a surprise that 82 per cent of TV watchers in India still watch their shows "live on TV” – that is, on a regular television at the time they are programmed to appear. The indication, then, would be that television is still a prime venue for marketers to advertise,” said Ipsos in India head marketing communication, Biswarup Banerjee.

“That is, of course, unless those couch-comfortable viewers are attached to their remote control devices and start surfing every time commercials come on or if they reach for their mute buttons when commercials are airing. What is clear is that while new televisions are capability-packed, most people watch TV as they are used to watching it – live,” added Banerjee.

Most (82 per cent) Indian respondents who watch TV indicate they usually watch TV programming “live”, although other popular modes of watching are catching on like streaming or downloading from a computer (40 per cent), streaming from the internet to TV (23 per cent), using a DVR or other recording device attached to a TV (16 per cent), and on mobile device (21 per cent) says the study.

Traditional ‘live’ TV watching is significantly more popular among Indian respondent’s ages 50-64 (89 per cent) compared to those 35-49 (88 per cent) and under 35 (76 per cent). Other modes of watching TV programming are more popular among younger respondents: on computer and laptop – under 35 (35 per cent), 35-49 (25 per cent), 50-64 (17 per cent); streaming from the internet – under 35 (20 per cent), 35-49 (16 per cent), 50-64 (11 per cent); on mobile device – under 35 (15 per cent), 35-49 (10 per cent), 50-64 (5 per cent). Using a DVR or other recording device attached to a TV is most popular with those 50-64 (18 per cent) compared to 35-64 (16 per cent) and under 35 (15 per cent).

TV watching across geographiesLive TV
Those most likely to choose watching TV programming on live TV are from France (93 per cent), Spain (93 per cent), Germany (92 per cent), Turkey (90 per cent), Argentina (89 per cent), Sweden (89 per cent), and Australia (89 per cent). Those rounding out the middle of the pack are from: Brazil (89 per cent), Italy (89 per cent), South Korea (87 per cent), Great Britain (83 per cent), Mexico (82 per cent), Poland (82 per cent), and India (82 per cent). Those least likely to watch TV programming live are from: Japan (82 per cent), Russia (81 per cent), South Africa (81 per cent), United States (81 per cent), China (80 per cent), and Canada (77 per cent).

TV on computer or laptop
Watching TV on computer or laptop is chosen most often by those from: China (52 per cent), Russia (43 per cent), Turkey (42 per cent), India (40 per cent), Sweden (35 per cent), South Korea (31 per cent), and Great Britain (29 per cent). Those clustering around the center of the list are from: Poland (27 per cent), South Africa (26 per cent), Canada (26 per cent), Germany (24 per cent), Mexico (24 per cent), Spain (23 per cent), and Brazil (21 per cent). Those from Argentina (20 per cent), the United States (20 per cent), Australia (19 per cent), Italy (17 per cent), Japan (14 per cent) and France (12 per cent) are least likely to watch TV on computer or laptop.

Streaming from the internet
Streaming from the internet to TV is most popular among those in Turkey (44 per cent), Russia (36 per cent), China (33 per cent), South Korea (25 per cent), India (23 per cent), Sweden (19 per cent), and Great Britain (17 per cent). Those in the middle of the pack are from: Canada (17 per cent), the United States (17 per cent), Brazil (15 per cent), Mexico (13 per cent), Spain (12 per cent), Italy (11 per cent), and Australia (10 per cent). Those from South Africa (9 per cent), Argentina (9 per cent), Poland (7 per cent), Germany (5 per cent), France (5 per cent), and Japan (3 per cent) are least likely to choose streaming from internet to TV.

DVR or other recording devices attached to a TV
Those who are most likely to use a DVR or other recording devices attached to a TV are from Japan (45 per cent), the United States (40 per cent), Canada (32 per cent), Great Britain (31 per cent), South Africa (27 per cent), and Australia (25 per cent). Those in the middle of the pack are from Poland (18 per cent), India (16 per cent), Germany (11 per cent), France (11 per cent), China (10 per cent), Mexico (9 per cent), and Sweden (8 per cent). Respondents from Turkey (7 per cent), Brazil (7 per cent), Spain (7 per cent), Italy (7 per cent), Argentina (6 per cent), South Korea (5 per cent), and Russia (4 per cent) are least likely to use a DVR or other recording devices.

TV on mobile device
Watching TV programming on mobile device is most popular among respondents who are from South Korea (26 per cent), China (25 per cent), India (21 per cent), Turkey (20 per cent), Mexico (13 per cent), Great Britain (12 per cent), and Sweden (12 per cent). Those in the middle are from the United States (10 per cent), Australia (9 per cent), Spain (9 per cent), Brazil (8 per cent), Canada (7 per cent), South Africa (7 per cent), and Italy (7 per cent). Least likely to watch TV on mobile device are respondents from Argentina (7 per cent), Japan (6 per cent), Poland (5 per cent), Russia (5 per cent), Germany (4 per cent), and France (4 per cent).